Get Yourself In Shape, Inside and Out

Start with our selection of easy breakfast recipes to start off your day

Many of my nutrition clients will tell me, “I already ruined my day with the donuts this morning, so what’s the point in eating healthy for the rest of the day?” Although I don’t agree with that “all or nothing” mentality, I do understand that it’s hard to turn yourself back around midday. (I constantly struggle with this myself!)

“Bad” breakfasts often include a heavy dose of sugar, and sugar is just plain destructive to your nutritional plan. In short, eating sugar makes you crave moresugar, and this effect is even stronger in the morning hours, when you are setting up your blood sugar to cycle up and down all day. By eating sugar early in the day, you are setting yourself up for a day full of cravings.

The trick to starting your day off right is eating a breakfast with lean protein and fiber to keep you satisfied until lunchtime.

This month, I’d like for all of us to focus more on our breakfast meal. Take some time to plan a meal that contains protein and fiber, and that is void of sugar. Some breakfast foods to include are: eggs, egg whites or Egg Beaters®; low-sugar yogurt; cottage cheese; oatmeal, protein shakes; nuts and nut butters.

Below you will find three of my favorite tried-and-true breakfast recipes. Two of the recipes, the breakfast pizza and the pancake soufflé, are more for the weekend, when you have some extra time on your hands.

Try out these recipes or experiment with your own healthy breakfast creations and then come share some of your morning meals with us. We would love to hear from you!

Bronson’s Breakfast Pizza

makes 3 servings

This recipe came from my brother’s best friend Bronson. Of course, I tweaked some of the ingredients to make it more nutritionally “sound,” but what I like best about this breakfast meal is that it will truly keep you satiated well into lunchtime. The high-protein and low-sugar content is a win-win situation for your body.

Ingredients:

1 8-inch whole-wheat pizza crust (I use Boboli®)

4 scrambled egg whites

⅓ cup canned low-sodium diced tomatoes

½ cup reduced fat shredded cheese (cheddar or Mexican mix)

1 soy-based breakfast sausage patty, crumbled (I use Morningstar Farms®)

1 pinch Italian seasoningDirections:

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Top the pizza crust with the scrambled eggs, tomatoes and cheese and then add the sausage patty. Season with a pinch of Italian seasoning and pepper, if you desire. Bake in the oven for 8-10 minutes or until warm throughout. Remove from oven and let the pizza “rest” for 5 minutes. Cut into thirds and serve.

Nutrition information per serving:

220 calories

5 grams fat

2.5 grams saturated fat

26 grams carbohydrate

5 grams fiber

18 grams protein

3 grams sugar

520 mg sodium

Pancake Soufflés with Sautéed Apples

makes 3 servings

I can’t say that this recipe is the picture-perfect model of a high-protein, high-fiber meal, but I wanted to include it because it was my favorite breakfast meal as a kid. I’ve played around with the ingredients to make it a little healthier, but if you want to up the protein, serve it with plain Greek yogurt or cottage cheese on the side.

Ingredients:

For soufflé:

½ cup 1% milk

¼ tsp salt

½ cup flour

½ tsp sugar

2 large eggs

½ tsp vanilla extract

½ tsp lemon zest

1 tbsp canola oilFor apples:

1 tbsp butter

2 tart apples, peeled, cored and cut into ½ inch slices

2 tbsp sugar

¼ tsp cinnamon

⅛ tsp nutmegDirections:

Soufflé:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Mix milk, salt, flour and sugar. Add eggs until blended. Add vanilla and lemon. Place a 10-inch “ovenproof” skillet over medium heat and add the canola oil. Allow the oil to get hot — about 1-2 minutes. Pour the batter into the skillet and place into the oven. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until crisp and “puffed” and lightly browned.

Apples:

Melt butter in a small skillet over medium heat and add the apple slices. Sauté the apples for about 5 minutes. Mix together the sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg; add to the apples. Cover and cook for a few more minutes, until the apples are softened to your liking.

To Serve:

Cut the soufflé into thirds and top with the sautéed apples.

Nutrition information per serving:

280 calories

12 grams fat

4 grams saturated fat

38 grams carbohydrate

2 grams fiber

8 grams protein

21 grams sugar

220 mg sodium

The “Make-Ahead” Bowl of Oatmeal

makes 4 servings

I much prefer steel-cut or Irish oats over “instant” or rolled oats. They are less refined, which results in a higher fiber more whole grain. The downside is that the steel-cut and Irish oats take a lot longer to cook. In order to enjoy the nutritional benefits of these whole oats on the fly, you can cook a large pot-full once a week and enjoy them all week long. Below you will find my recipe for 4 servings of oatmeal. I added in my favorite toppings, but feel free to experiment with your own.

Ingredients:

1 cup steel-cut oats

1 tbsp canola oil

3 cups boiling water

Pinch of salt

Toppings (per serving):

½ cup skim or 1% milk

½ of a chopped Granny Smith apple

¼ tsp ground cinnamon

2 tbsp slivered almonds

Directions:

In a medium saucepan, add the oil and heat over medium heat. Lower the heat to low, add the oats and stir often, allowing the oats to “toast,” for about 1-2 minutes. Then add the boiling water and salt, reduce the heat to low and allow to simmer for 25 minutes without stirring. Remove from heat and taste for doneness. Allow to cool and place in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Portion the oatmeal into 4 servings. Top each serving with the milk, apple, cinnamon and almonds. Microwave for 1-2 minutes, or until heated throughout. Stir well, allowing the milk to be evenly distributed.

Nutrition information per serving:

340 calories

13 grams fat

1.5 grams saturated fat

49 grams carbohydrate

8 grams fiber

13 grams protein

16 grams sugar

135 mg sodium

Learn more ways to eat healthier with weight loss and nutrition videos on GaiamTV.com!

Just as important as eating breakfast is eating the right breakfast. If you start out a little shaky (with something like sugar- and carb-laden coffee cake), you’re very likely to continue down a less-than-optimal nutrition path for the rest of the day.

Sweet Addiction: Could Sugar Be Sabotaging Your Diet?

How to break the sugar habit

 

:: by The FIRM nutrition expert Sara Ryba, R.D., C.D.N.

It amazes me that sugar doesn’t have quite the bad reputation it deserves. My clients come to me with all sorts of dietary concerns, but they often overlook the big elephant in the room. And that big elephant is sugar. While most of us know that sugar isn’t good for us, I don’t think that we realize just how bad it is and how detrimental it can be to our bodies and diet and fitness goals.

According to the Center for Science in the Public Interest, sugar should be curbed for the following reasons:

• You can’t afford the empty calories.
• Sugar-sweetened beverages promote obesity and may raise the risk of heart disease and diabetes.
• Certain sugars raise triglycerides.
• Certain sugars may boost abdominal fat.
• Sugar may raise the risk of gout.
• Eating sugar may promote overeating.

I realized just how bad sugar was about 15 years ago. (I had just become a nutritionist.) I was addicted to frozen yogurt. It was the perfect low-calorie, “fat-free” treat. I would indulge in a moderate-sized cup every evening. Then, as I read up on sugar, and read the nutrition label on my favorite “fat-free” frozen yogurt, I realized that this guiltless treat might be a lot guiltier than I had imagined. So, I gave up my frozen yogurt and replaced it with plain yogurt topped with fruit, and I dropped a few pounds without even trying. I also woke up feeling better the next day and had noticeably less puffiness and bloating in my face and body. Now that’s just my story, but I could go on and on about stories of friends and clients who gave up sugar and were amazed by the results.

 

Your sugar allowance

 

So how much sugar can you eat in a given day? Most scientists, doctors and nutritionists agree that women should aim for 100 calories (6½ teaspoons or 25 grams of sugar) per day, while men can consume 150 calories of sugar (9½ teaspoons or 38 grams). In addition, we should aim to avoid all sugar-sweetened beverages and even limit fruit juice to 1 cup per day. The only sugar to “not worry about” is the sugar found in whole fresh fruit, milk and plain yogurt (yes, even fruit yogurts have added sugar). Keep in mind that these numbers are just goals: even if you just reduce your sugar intake to 30-35 grams for women and 40-45 grams for men, you are moving in the right direction.

 

Sugar sleuth

 

Most of you probably realize that cakes, cookies and candy carry hefty doses of sugar, but you may not know that there are many other foods filled to the brim with sugar. In order to become an educated sugar consumer, you should pay close attention to your food labels. When reading the food label, take a look underneath the “total carbohydrates” to find out how many grams of sugar are contained in one serving. If the food contains little or no milk or fruit (which have naturally occurring sugars), then you will know the number of “added grams of sugar” that are contained. Cross-reference this with your daily allowance — about 25 grams for women and about 38 grams for men — to decide if this food fits into your allowance.

 

The lowdown on your favorite foods

 

In order to figure out how many teaspoons of sugar are in your favorite foods, simply divide the number of grams on the nutrition label by 4. So if a food had 16 grams of sugar that would equal 4 teaspoons of added sugar.

FOOD	TEASPOONS OF SUGAR
Breakfast foods
¾ cup Honey Nut Cheerios	2½ tsp
1 cup Fruit Loops	3 tsp
1 cup of Corn Chex	<1 tsp
¾ cup Frosted Flakes	3+ tsp
1 cup Kashi GoLean Crunch	3½ tsp
¾ cup Cracklin’ Oat Bran	4 tsp
1¼ cup Rice Krispies	1 tsp
1 cup Quaker Oatmeal squares	2½ tsp
1 packet Quaker Instant Oatmeal: Cinnamon & Spice	3½ tsp
1 packet Swiss Miss Hot Cocoa	4 tsp
Kashi GoLean Cookies and Cream Bar	9 tsp
Kashi TLC Trail Mix Bar	1½ tsp
Nature’s Valley Crunchy Granola Bar	2½ tsp
Desserts
½ cup Edy’s Slow Churned Light Ice Cream, Cookie Dough	3½ tsp
Regular Cup: TCBY Old Fashioned Frozen Yogurt	6 tsp
Dairy Queen Heath Blizzard	26 tsp
Pre-Packaged Small Rice Krispie Treat	1¾ tsp
½ cup Trader Joe’s Lemon Sorbet	5 tsp
3 Oreo cookies	3½ tsp
Beverages
20-ounce Sprite	16 tsp
Starbucks Grande Vanilla Latte	4 tsp
20-ounce Minute Maid Lemon-aid	17 tsp
16.9-ounce Nestea Iced Tea	12 tsp
20-ounce Lemon-Lime Gatorade	8½ tsp

Sugar aliases

 

When reading nutrition labels and ingredient lists, be on the lookout for sugar aliases. There are many different ways that sugar can go undercover. Don’t be duped! Be on the lookout for these terms:

• Fructose
• Glucose
• Dextrose
• High fructose corn syrup (HFCS)
• Honey
• Maple syrup
• Molasses
• Raw sugar
• Brown sugar
• Table sugar
• Confectioner’s sugar
• Baker’s sugar
• Powdered sugar
• Agave
• Nectar
• Fruit juice concentrate

I hope that you are convinced. I truly believe that it is the best diet modification that you can make. So go for it: Start counting your sugar grams!

 

For the the original article please click below
[http://life.gaiam.com/article/sweet-addiction-could-sugar-be-sabotaging-your-diet] republished courtesy of Gaiam Life. 

Top 10 Ways to Reduce Your Risk of Heart Disease

:: by James Rouse, N.D.

The number-one killer in America (for both men and women), heart disease is the result of the narrowing of the arteries that supply the heart with blood, oxygen, and nutrients. This process, called coronary artery disease, can generally be traced to a condition called atherosclerosis, the build-up of cholesterol-rich fatty deposits, or plaques, on the inside of arterial walls. As these deposits accumulate over time, the coronary arteries narrow to the point that the flow of oxygenated blood to the heart is impeded. (Arterial spasms — triggered by smoking, extreme emotional stress, or exposure to very cold temperatures — may also cause coronary arteries to narrow suddenly and dangerously.)

The Risk Factors — and How You Can Reduce Yours
Major risk factors for cardiovascular disease include cigarette smoking, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and/or triglycerides, diabetes mellitus, obesity, sedentary lifestyle, and poor nutrition. Prevention and treatment centers around these risk factors — and these approaches will help you lower risk for many other types of illness, as well as helping you feel great and have more energy overall.

1. Don't smoke.Cigarette smoking remains the leading preventable cause of cardiovascular disease in women, with more than 50 percent of heart attacks among middle-aged women attributable to tobacco. Risk of cardiovascular disease begins to decline within months of smoking cessation and reaches the level of persons who have never smoked within 3 to 5 years.

2. Lower your cholesterol.
High blood cholesterol is a condition that greatly increases your chances of developing coronary heart disease. Extra cholesterol in the blood settles on the inner walls of the arteries, narrowing them and allowing less blood to pass through them to the heart. Aim for total cholesterol below 200 mg/dL; LDL cholesterol below 130 mg/dL and HDL above 35 mg/dL.

3. Maintain a healthy weight.Obesity and sedentary lifestyles are epidemics in the United States that contribute to increased risk of cardiovascular disease. The prevalence of obesity has increased among both men and women in the United States in the past decade; currently about one third of adult women (or 34 million) are classified as obese. Also, 60% of both men and women get no regular physical activity. Obesity, especially abdominal adiposity, is an important risk factor for cardiovascular disease in women.
4. Exercise regularly.
Recent evidence suggests that even moderate-intensity activity, including brisk walking, is associated with substantial reduction of cardiovascular disease risk. These findings support the 1995 federal exercise guidelines endorsing 30 minutes of moderately intense physical activity most days of the week, a program that should be feasible and safe for most of the population. Regular exercise and maintenance of healthy weight should also help reduce insulin resistance and the risk of non–insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus, which appears to be an even stronger risk factor for cardiovascular disease in women than in men. Diabetes is associated with a threefold to sevenfold elevation in cardiovascular disease risk among women, compared with a twofold to threefold elevation among men. Approximately half of all deaths in patients with non–insulin dependent diabetes mellitus are due to heart disease.

5. Eat less saturated fat, more produce & more fiber.
Diets low in saturated fat and high in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and fiber are associated with a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease. Also, a recent study reported in the Annals of Internal Medicine journal confirmed that eating fruits and vegetables, particularly green leafy vegetables and vitamin C-rich fruits and vegetables, seems to have a protective effect against coronary heart disease. You may even think about moving toward more flexitarian or vegetarian eating habits: A vegetarian diet reduces the risk of coronary artery disease, and may even reverse existing coronary artery disease when combined with other lifestyle changes. A Mediterranean diet that uses olive oil can reduce the risk of coronary artery disease.
6. Avoid trans fats.
Trans fatty acids have been linked to adverse lipid profiles and an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. This includes most margarines. The role of other fatty acids, including monounsaturated, polyunsaturated, and marine omega-3 fatty acids, remains controversial.
7. Consume alcohol only in moderation.
Moderate intake of alcohol is related to reduction of cardiovascular disease — but may raise blood pressure and increase risk of breast cancer. Early surgical menopause is linked to increased risk of cardiovascular disease, which appears to be negated by the use of estrogen therapy.
8. Arm yourself with risk-reducing vitamins.
Antioxidant vitamin supplements, particularly vitamin E and homocysteine-lowering agents such as folate and B6, have promising roles in prevention of cardiovascular disease, but conclusive evidence may hinge on the results of several ongoing randomized clinical trials. When it is found in unusually high levels, homocysteine brings the same degree of risk as having high cholesterol does. The B vitamins, especially folic acid and B12, will drive elevated homocysteine levels down to normal, often without the need of any prescription medication.

9. Give yourself some new stress-management tools.
Poorly controlled stress may have an adverse effect on blood lipids. An attitude of hostility has been powerfully linked with a higher incidence of cardiac events, and cynical distrust has been associated with accelerated progression of carotid artery disease. Relaxation methods (meditation, breathing exercises), yoga, and stress management techniques are essential for preventing cardiovascular disease and coronary artery disease and for reducing the risk of recurrent cardiac problems. Meditation improves exercise tolerance and decreases electrical changes associated with poor circulation to the heart. Meditation has also been shown to lower cholesterol and reverse carotid artery thickening. Also consider acupuncture, which has been shown to help relax the myocardium and improve circulation.
10. Ask your health professional about herbs and nutritional supplements that may be useful in preventing and treating cardiovascular disease, including:

• Bilberry
• Turmeric (curcumin)
• Fenugreek
• Ginger
• Guggul
• Ginkgo
• Garlic (one garlic clove is roughly equal to 4 mg to 1 gram of garlic; a daily dose of 600 to 800mg may be recommended)
• Onion
• Vitamin B12
• Folic acid (500 to 5000 micrograms daily may be recommended)
• B6
• L-Carnitine
• Coenzyme Q10 (100 to 300 mg daily may be recommended)
• Vitamin E (400 to 800 International Units daily may be recommended)
• Magnesium (200 to 400 mg daily may be recommended)
• Niacin (A typical oral dose of 100 mg, three times daily; may gradually increase to avg. dose of 1 gram three times daily, with a maximum dose of 6 grams. Extended release tablets: Dosing may begin with one 375-milligram tablet at bedtime and be increased by no more than 500 mg per four-week period, to a maximum of 2,000 mg, given as two 1,000-milligram tablets before bed)
•  Fish oils (6 grams daily may be recommended)
• Soy (Isoflavones may be recommended)

 

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Consult your doctor before using any health treatment — including herbal supplements and natural remedies — and tell your doctor if you have a serious medical condition or are taking any medications. The information presented here is for educational purposes only and is in no way intended as substitute for medical counseling.

 

For the the original article please click below
[http://life.gaiam.com/article/top-10-ways-reduce-your-risk-heart-disease] republished courtesy of Gaiam Life.